Upper incisors acute, with strong posterior ridges, lower incisors
compressed and laniariform, canines compressed, with serrated
cutting edges; first upper premolar with rudimentary anterior lobe,
last upper molar with rudimentary postero-internal cusp. Molars
constructed as in _Palæosyops_, but higher, with sharper cones and
more erect external lobes. Internal median valley very much deeper.
Little or no depression at the forehead; zygomatic arch round,
comparatively straight and does not project outwards, and with
obscure postorbital process. Premaxillaries short and straight.
Mandible with nearly straight lower margin, and shallow masseteric
fossa; mental foramen single.
Leurocephalus cultridens, _Sp. Nov._
This species was considerably larger than _Palæosyops major_, with
which it shows affinities, as also with _Titanotherium Proutii_. See
Plate IV.
The _Frontal_ is narrow and flat, or slightly arched. It sends out a
strong curved postorbital process, which projects outwards, but not
so much outwards as in _Palæosyops_. The sagittal crest runs back
from the postorbital in a low rounded ridge, rising but little as
it recedes. The superciliary ridge is distinct, and is pierced by
two small venous foramina. The shape of the entire bone is much as
we find it in the dog, except that it does not arch so much. One of
the most marked differences between this genus and _Palæosyops_ is
here shown. In the latter the forehead rises abruptly from behind
the orbit, while in the former there is only a slight rise for
some distance behind the orbit. As the bone is broken here, it is
impossible to state whether there is any rise at all. Probably not,
however. Below the postorbital process, on the lateral aspect of
the bone, there is a low ridge which separates the orbit from the
temporal fossa. The under surface of the frontal is smooth.
The _Nasal_, of which but a small portion is preserved, is flat on
top, but bends downward at the angle.
The _Maxillary_ is long and stout, over the last and penultimate
molars it broadens to form the floor of the orbit, which is of
unusual size. Between the canine and the malar the maxillary arches
inwards, forming a perceptible concavity, at this point it reaches
its greatest vertical height, as it rises to join the nasal. The
alveolar border is curved in two directions, one with the convexity
outwards, and the other downwards. It exhibits no emargination in the
diastema between the canines and molars. The palatine plate is long,
thick, and narrow; it is flat fore-and-aft, but concave transversely,
owing to the elevation of the alveolus; the suture also is raised
slightly. In thickness it varies; being thickest between the canine
and the second premolar, and beyond this becoming thinner. Its
forward termination seems to be obtuse, running for a short distance
along the premaxillaries. The infraorbital foramen is large, situated
over the fourth premolar, lower down, and nearer to the malar than in
_Palæosyops_.
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